TORONTO - Uninspiring choices at the ballot box, negative campaigns and unprecedented involvement from organized labour have political observers worried that the upcoming Ontario election will be marred by yet another disappointing voter turnout.

Ontarians have shown a growing propensity to stay home on election day over the past two decades, with voter turnout numbers steadily falling from 64 per cent in 1990 to a historic low of 48 per cent in 2011.

Experts monitoring the most recent campaign say they fear voters have been given little incentive to buck the trend this time around.

Queen's University Political Studies Professor Jonathan Rose said the 40-day campaign hasn't featured any of the usual factors that drive people to the polls.

Voters are usually galvanized by either a single hot-button issue or an active economic crisis, he said, adding none of those factors are present this time around.

More importantly, however, he said is the question of leadership. Rose said Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath have all failed to capture the public's imagination despite their stark ideological differences and clearly defined visions of how the province would look under their leadership.

"There is not a lot of enthusiasm for any of the leaders, in part because I don't think any of them are inspiring," Rose said in a telephone interview from Kingston, Ont. "They're not motivating people to go out and vote because of some inspirational idea."

The flat response to the front-runners seems to be born out in the various polls gauging public interest in the election.

The margin between voters backing Wynne and those supporting Hudak has levelled off at roughly one per cent among the most recent survey results, with undecided voters consistently pegged at more than 10 per cent.

Experts said the era of the disengaged voter makes it increasingly difficult to predict how the undecided voter will behave when election day rolls around.

Eric Grenier, author of poll analysis website ThreeHundredEight.com, said the dip in voter interest leaves pollsters in a quandary as they try to gauge which parties have the most support.

"When turnout's 70 or 80 per cent, the people you're polling are probably also the people who are going to vote, so it's not a big deal. But when turnout drops to 60 or 50 per cent, ...that's when turnout is a huge, huge thing," he said. "The 100 per cent of people that can be polled can be very different from the 50 per cent who will actually vote."

Grenier said the more useful approach is to look at the numbers of people who are likely to cast a ballot, since they stand a much higher chance of exerting some influence at the polls.

Determining that number, however, is a complex proposition.

Grenier said the practice of tracking likely voters is comparatively recent in Canada, adding the metric was adopted as a way for pollsters to keep their guesses accurate in the face of dwindling turnouts.

But every pollster has a different tracking methodology, he said, adding that while many of the approaches are sound, they all yield different results.

Projections from Ipsos Reid, for instance, indicate Hudak's supporters are more motivated to cast their votes, while findings from Ekos Research suggest the ballot box advantage belongs to Wynne's Liberals.

University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman agrees that tracking likely voters is a more challenging but ultimately more instructive practice than monitoring undecided voters.

The group has often been characterized as engaged citizens weighing their democratic options, but is more likely to simply not be interested, he said.

"The assumption we have when we hear 'undecided' is, someone is sitting there at home thinking, 'I should read over these platforms again. I just can't decide now, I'm really thinking about it.' But I don't think that's what it means to most people when they're asked in a survey," Wiseman said.

Rose said there are other factors that may give apathetic voters even more reasons to sit this election out.

Campaigns defined by partisan attacks, combined with unprecedented political statements from prominent police and media unions, may make the average voter feel both either coerced or superfluous, he said.

"Negativity breeds cynicism towards the process," he said. "It plays into the cynical view that the real action is going on beyond the voters and they're being manipulated,...and that organizations, either parties, unions or social groups, are making the decision for them."

The personal barbs flying between the front-runners intensified in the dying days of the campaign to the point that even the party leaders were forced to decry the negative tone.

Wynne said Wednesday that her party crossed a line by distributing a flyer depicting Hudak walking away from an exploding hospital in a crude parody of the blockbuster film "The Dark Knight."

Hudak was forced on the defensive after dozens of voters in London received letters directing them to the wrong polling station. Similar notices were allegedly also sent out to voters in an Ottawa riding.

The Tories said it was an innocent mixup and apologized, but the Liberals suggested it was a deliberate attempt at voter suppression and filed a complaint with Elections Ontario.

Grenier suspects the election results will ultimately be decided by which party has the more efficient organization on election day itself. The one that's able to convince known supporters to get out and vote, he said, is the one that will carry the day.

"If (turnout) is going to be around that 50-per-cent mark again, it's really going to matter who gets out the vote," he said. "A lot of ridings, if it's decided by a handful of points, it's that organization that's going to make the difference."

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Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak while campaigning at a food truck festival in Whitby, Ont. on Saturday, May 10, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

A flyer depicting Ont. PC leader Tim Hudak laughing as he walks away from an exploding hospital is shown. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says the Liberal flyer sent by a Vaughan candidate is "not acceptable." THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

Ontario Premier and Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne reads to a full day kindergarten class at Westwood Public School in Guelph, Ontario on Wednesday May 14 , 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

PC Leader Tim Hudak gestures to the the 800-megawatt gas-fired power plant scrapped by the previous Liberal administration, as he talks to the press in Mississauga on Sunday May 18 , 2014. Hudak continues his election campaign. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne drives a tractor with instruction from farmer Sandra Vos (right) at a campaign event in Paris, Ontario on Tuesday May 20, 2014, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Ontario Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne shows off a pair of boxing gloves she received as a gift, while her partner Jane Rounthwaite (left) looks on in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak, hugs his new born baby Maitland Hudak after greeting supporters at his headquarters during a campaign stop in Grimsby, Ont., on Monday, May 12, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak holds a town hall meeting in a hair salon in Pickering, Ontario on Tuesday May 27 , 2014, as he continues his election campaign. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak eats lunch with Foreign Minister John Baird as he attends an event at the Chateau Laurier during an election campaign stop in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. Ontario goes to the polls June 12th. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is seen behind a display of tomatoes while shopping at Eraa Supermarket in Toronto, Ont. on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak, centre, laughs before he makes an announcement at a packaging plant about creating 40,000 jobs in Ontario with affordable energy during a campaign stop in Smithville, Ont., on Monday, May 12, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne talks to members of Toronto's Leaside Lawn Bowling Club before addressing the media as she begins her campaign in Ontario's provincial election on Saturday May 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak jokes with a man about his ice cream cone at a food truck festival during a campaign stop in Whitby, Ont. on Saturday, May 10, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Ontario Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne pulls a beer at a campaign event in Sudbury, Ontario on Tuesday May 27, 2014, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak is seen through a reflection in a window while campaigning at Spin Desserts Cafe and Bistro in Burlington, Ont. on Wednesday, May 7, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Ontario Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne practices using a drill during a campaign stop at the Carpenters' Union Local 27 Training Centre in Vaughan, Ont. on Monday, May 12, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Campaigning PC Leader Tim Hudak laughs as he tries out a nail gun as he visits a residential construction site while campaigning in Milton, Ont., on Monday, May 26, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel

Ontario Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne helps a health care worker up off the floor during a group photo at a campaign event in Toronto on Monday June 2, 2014, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Ontario Conservative Party Leader Tim Hudak buys flowers for Mothers Day with his daughter Miller at Growers Flower Market on Avenue Rd. in Toronto on Sunday, May 11, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne bowls a ball to formally open Toronto's Leaside Lawn Bowling Club's season as she begins her campaign in Ontario's Provincial election on Saturday May 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

PC Leader Tim Hudak talks to the media as he sits at a mixing desk at Metalworks Studios, as he hits the campaign trail in Ontario's Provincial election in Mississauga on Monday May 5 , 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne rests after a run in Milton, Ontario on Monday May 5, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak speaks to a lunchtime meeting of the Chamber of Commerce in London, Ontario, Friday, May 23, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Geoff Robins

Emely Tscholy and Blaine Connolly protest quietly against "scandals and waste" outside a rally for Ontario Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne in Kitchener, Ont., on Sunday, June 8, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel

Premier Kathleen Wynne weighs baby Lucas at a family health care unit on a campaign stop in Lindsay, Ont. on Friday, May 30, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Thornhill

Ontario Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne has taken a number of shots at Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his federal Conservatives so far in her campaign.
And some federal Tories are firing right back.
With files from The Canadian Press

Wynne wasted no time criticizing the Harper government in her first speech after announcing a provincial vote had been called for June 12.
Wynne said the priorities of her government are increasingly at odds with Ottawa.
"We need a premier who is willing to stand up to Stephen Harper," she said.
"The federal government pours billions of dollars into the oilsands, but when it comes to the Ring of Fire, Stephen Harper has not acted."

Just hours after the provincial election was called, Harper suggested Wynne's proposal for an Ontario Retirement Pension Plan won't be a hit at the polls.
When asked if Wynne could win the election with the plan, the prime minister said increasing taxes isn't the way to go.

Wynne then called Harper's comments about her pension plan "unusual" and told reporters she's not in the race to run against the prime minister.
"The first choice would have been to have an improvement and enhancement to the Canada Pension Plan, but the federal government is not interested in doing that," she said.
"So quite frankly I think that if Prime Minister Harper isn't interested in partnering with us then he should move out of the way."

Finance Minister Joe Oliver joined the fray, ripping the budget Wynne tabled a day before calling the election.
The spending plan is, essentially, the platform on which Ontario Liberals are running.
"This is the route to economic decline, not the route to economic growth or job creation," he told CBC Radio's The House.
And Oliver made clear he's also no fan of Wynne's pension plan, calling it a $3.5 billion tax on "workers and businesses" that will kill jobs in Ontario.
"This isn't the time to do it," he said.

Wynne didn't care much for Oliver weighing in on her budget.
In fact, the Ontario Liberal leader accused Harper of "taking over the Conservative voice in the Ontario election."

Oliver later denied to reporters he was trying to intrude on the Ontario election, but was careful to repeat his earlier criticism about Wynne's pension proposal.
"It's not the time, in my opinion, to impose this type of tax when the Ontario economy is so fragile," he said.

Wynne then singled out Harper by saying his pension is about 10 times the maximum payout available under the CPP.
"Stephen Harper when he retires is going to have about 10 times that amount in his pension," she said.
"So the reality is that if he doesn't believe that the Canada Pension Plan should be enhanced, then he should move out of the way and let Ontario do its work."

Treasury Board President Tony Clement then took the fight to Wynne during a segment on CBC's "Power & Politics."
The former Ontario MPP didn't mince words, calling Wynne's pension plan proposal a "tax grab" meant to distract from various scandals.
"She doesn't want to talk about the gas plants scandal, she doesn't want to talk about E-health scandal. She wants to divert attention from her government's terrible record on these things as well as terrible economic record," he said. "So, I'm not going to play into her campaign strategy, quite frankly."

Wynne told The Toronto Star that, in a private meeting in December, Harper "smirked' and told her people ought to be saving for their own retirement and not count on the government.
“It was their fault and people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and they need to just save because there's lots of opportunities,” she recalled in the paper.

Jason MacDonald, Harper's chief spokesperson, suggested to The Star that Wynne wasn't being entirely truthful about her meeting with the prime minister.
"Presumably she made the comments she made today to distract from her mismanagement of the Ontario economy and the fact that she can’t run on her party’s record," he said.

In a speech delivered not far from Parliament Hill, Wynne accused Harper of neglecting Canada's largest province.
"Right now, on a number of important issues, the interests of the people of Ontario are at odds with the policies of Stephen Harper's government," she said. "In a very real way, the federal government is balancing its budget on the backs of Ontarians."

Clement didn't appreciate Wynne's digs at the prime minister and told reporters he wants Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak to win the election.
"[It's] a campaign technique to deflect attention from the disastrous record of the Ontario Liberal government, economic record as well as gas plants and shredding emails and 40 percent hikes in hydro bills," he told reporters.
"I personally want the election of Tim Hudak as premier of Ontario. I personally do, but we’ll work with anybody who forms the government, of course, in the national interest and the provincial interest."

Wynne then shot back by saying federal Tories are "attacking" because they don't share her government’s values.
"We know [Harper] doesn't like it because Tony Clement was sent out to attack today," she told a crowd in Kingston, Ont.
"Not a surprise that Tony Clement and Tim Hudak would be on the same page, is it? Not a surprise at all."

Blake Richards, who represents the federal Alberta riding of Wild Rose, shared a story about an Ontario Liberal candidate's controversial Facebook posts.

Kathleen Wynne is hoping Ontario voters can look past these five scandals when they cast their ballots on June 12.
(Information courtesy of The Canadian Press)

Ontario's publicly funded air ambulance service has been under fire for almost two years over sky-high salaries, financial irregularities and corruption allegations. A legislative committee has been probing the service's complex structures and pay scales in detail, and opposition parties have been alleging wrongdoing with nearly every revelation. The auditor general has criticized the governing Liberals for failing to oversee Ornge, despite giving it $730 million over five years and allowing it to borrow another $300 million. The Liberals insist Ornge went rogue with a web of for-profit companies and questionable business deals, as well as exorbitant salaries and lavish expenses.

Scandal has swirled around the government's decision to cancel the construction of two Toronto-area gas plants ahead of the 2011 election, in which the government then led by Dalton McGuinty was reduced to minority status. The cancellation costs have now been pegged at $1.1 billion, but opposition parties have accused the Liberals of actively trying to cover up that figure. Ontario's privacy commissioner has concluded that staff working for McGuinty and a former energy minister broke the law by deleting emails pertaining to the project. Ontario Provincial Police are also investigating the document deletions, seizing government computers at both Queen's Park and beyond.

The provincial agency was given a $1-billion budget to develop electronic health records, but wound up building themselves a bad reputation. A lot of the eHealth money went for untendered contracts given to highly paid consultants who then billed taxpayers for additional expenses in a scandal that cost former health minister David Caplan his job. In 2009, the auditor general said the agency had very little progress to show for its efforts, and opposition parties have alleged further financial mismanagement since then.

The government has taken heat for not immediately acting when it learned a $1.4-billion infrastructure project didn't live up to safety standards. The Liberals were told that questionable materials were being used on the support beams on Windsor's Herb Gray Parkway in December 2012, but didn't halt the project until July. More than 500 support beams are being replaced by the project overseer at no cost to the tax payers, but the NDP has accused the Wynne government of trying to cover up the affair and only backing down when threatened with media exposure.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has hailed the 2015 games as a cause for celebration, but opposition parties call it just another scandal. The $1.4-billion budget for the games does not include some key expenses, like the $700 million athletes' village. The government has also come under fire for $7 million worth of bonuses paid out to 64 executives.

UP NEXT: The Many Faces Of Kathleen Wynne

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynn smiles as she arrives at the Toronto Blue Jays game against the New York Yankees during home opener AL baseball action in Toronto on Friday, April 4, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, left, and Glen Murray, Minister of Infrastructure, ride the subway while en route to Wynne's speech at the Toronto Region Board of Trade in Toronto Monday, April 14, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne attends question period at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is shown outside her office at Queen's Park in Toronto on Thursday, March 27, 2014. Wynne has distanced herself from her predecessor, former premier Dalton McGuinty, following police allegations one of his staffers may have committed breach of trust. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne speaks to supporters and her caucus during the party's annual general meeting in Toronto on Saturday, March 22, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette